


Nailed (Not Like That)

by Onehelluvapilot



Series: Febuwhump [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Gen, Hurt Gwaine (Merlin), Men Crying, Pain, Protective Knights (Merlin), Protective Percival (Merlin), Reunions, Whump, graphic descriptions of pain, hand trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:13:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29114319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onehelluvapilot/pseuds/Onehelluvapilot
Summary: Gwaine was captured by slavers a week ago, but whatever condition the others had been expecting to find him in, they hadn't thought that he might be nailed to a stump and left to die.
Relationships: Gwaine & Knights (Merlin), Gwaine & Merlin (Merlin), Gwaine & Percival (Merlin)
Series: Febuwhump [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2134998
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	Nailed (Not Like That)

**Author's Note:**

> Betaed by the lovely writer LiGi, who is also doing febuwhump with Merlin characters! Go check her out!

When they came into the clearing, the knights pulled their horses to a dead stop at the sight before them. Lancelot let out a strangled sound of grief and Elyan choked on whatever exclamation he had been planning to make. Percival and Leon were silent, expressions frozen in horror. Arthur, surprisingly, was the only one among them not to let the grief consume him. As king, it was his responsibility to honor his fallen soldiers, so he dismounted his horse and strode forward towards Gwaine's body. He had feared this outcome when the knight had been captured by slave traders. The fierce fighter would never submit to them. It had just been a matter of whether the others could catch up to the caravan before they decided he was more trouble than he was worth.

The only thing that surprised him was the cruelty with which they had killed him. To nail a man to a tree stump and leave him there to die of exposure… He was very glad Merlin was back at the inn they'd slept at the previous night, helping heal the innkeeper's sick daughter. The servant had been reluctant to stay behind, but now he'd been spared the trauma of finding his friend's body in such a state. Arthur knelt down beside the man, laying a hand on the thin, bloodstained shirt that covered his shoulder.

Gwaine stirred under his fingers, and instinctively, before he'd even processed the fact that the knight was somehow, miraculously, alive, Arthur gripped his bicep to keep him from trying to move his hand. To do so would only cause more damage as it ripped at the nail that had been hammered through his palm and into the top of the stump he was slumped against. Thankfully, Gwaine didn't struggle as he woke, just opened his eyes to blink up at Arthur.

"You're alive!" He shouted when his brain had finally caught up, before turning back towards the others. "He's alive!"

That was all they needed to hear before all four of them hastily dismounted and rushed forwards, immediately circling the stump. Percival knelt on Gwaine's left, placing a large arm carefully around his back to steady him and his other hand on his shoulder to help him sit up a little straighter. The injured knight had been leaning against the stump he was nailed to, left cheek pressed to the wood for long enough that there were lines creased into the skin. His head lolled back against Percy's shoulder. He somehow felt weak in his grasp, skinnier than usual and crying out in pain as he was jostled.

“It’s good to see you,” Leon remarked as he knelt down and reached over to hold Gwaine’s wrist.

“Is it?” the injured knight asked, his voice rough from apparent disuse. “I must look a right mess.” He wasn’t wrong; there was blood in his hair and down his face from a gash near his hairline, which wasn’t his only injury. His clothes were also filthy. If any of them had been paying attention to anything other than making sure he was okay, they would have noticed that he smelled. 

“Do you think we care about that?” Leon retorted. “We’re just relieved to find you alive, and no injury or amount of dirt could ever change that.” Gwaine looked away upon hearing that, and the other man wondered why for a second before he caught the glint of tears in his eyes and the way he had to swallow to clear the sudden lump in his throat.

"You're shivering," Lancelot remarked, interrupting the suddenly too-emotional moment as he stripped off his own cloak off and draped it over Gwaine’s shoulders as a blanket. It wasn't surprising that the knight was cold. He'd been there long enough for the blood on his hand to congeal to a tacky texture, and he was dressed only in a thin shirt and pants instead of a padded gambeson beneath his armor like the rest of them. His feet were bare; the slavers must've decided his boots were too good to be wasted on a dead man.

"We need to get him back to Merlin," Arthur said. "Elyan, can you get the nail out?" As a blacksmith, he would be the most qualified to do the delicate work.

"Yes. I'll have to go slow, and you need to hold him perfectly still, or else I might hurt him more." Everyone's grip on him reflexively tightened. Percival currently had an arm wrapped around his back to hold him steady while Leon and Arthur both squeezed his arm. Gwaine was clearly weakened significantly from a week of malnutrition, exhaustion, and injury, but when Elyan touched the nail, even though he wasn't moving it yet, the knights could feel his remaining strength under their hands as he jerked.

"Easy, easy," Percival soothed. He shifted so that his legs were on either side of Gwaine and scooted forward a little so that his friend could lean back against his chest. "Try to relax if you can."

The injured knight huffed out a breath before letting his head fall back against Percy's shoulder. It jerked back up as soon as Elyan touched the nail again, but at least he was trying. He muffled his scream against his fist for as long as he could bear before letting it out. The grating slide of metal within his flesh was overwhelming and he was crying for them to stop before the nail had even barely moved. Elyan had to use a dagger to pull it, the edge of the blade catching under the head of the nail and prying against the stump to drag it out. He finally got it, and Gwaine’s hand came away from the wood. Instantly he tried to curl it up into a fist, and Elyan had to quickly grab his fingers to keep his hand flat.

"Don't!" he ordered. "If you close your hand with the nail still in it, you'll rip muscles and tendons and likely never be able to move it again." Gwaine paled; even his pain-addled mind could process the threat of that. Elyan didn't want to scare his friend, but he had to get through to him. He guided the limb back to the stump, where Arthur held it still, before resuming pulling the nail from it. Now that it was out of the wood, it moved much more easily, and the remaining inch of metal slipped out with little resistance. The noise ripped from Gwaine’s throat was almost inhuman and Leon, Arthur, and Elyan together weren't strong enough to hold his arm as he yanked it back towards himself. Percival sitting behind him was the only reason he didn't knock himself over with the violent motion.

"Hey it's okay, it's okay, it's okay," he frantically, and futilely, tried to reassure his friend. Normally he could get him to calm down with a hug or by stroking his hair, but this time the pain must've been too severe. Gwaine shook in Percival’s grasp, right hand clutched to his chest. It was an agonizing few minutes until his sobs petered out. Arthur couldn't stand to watch and had to get up and move away, but the others stayed close. Despite how the injured knight was clearly beyond the point where being comforted would help him, they had to try.

He finally sagged against Percival, more worn out than relaxed. "There, easy," his friend muttered softly against his hair. "It's okay, I've got you. Gwaine, can you tell me if you’re hurt anywhere else?”

“I’m fine,” he replied, voice raw from crying. It was pretty obviously a lie.

“You’re clearly not,” Lancelot gently called him out on it. “Please, let me take a look at you?”

After a minute, he nodded, and let his friend come and gently examine him for wounds. He found a myriad of scrapes and bruises, as well as two deeper cuts on his left thigh and across his stomach.

"Should we try to clean the wounds now, do you think, or just get him back to the inn?" Leon asked.

"I don't want to subject him to that without anything to numb the pain," Elyan replied quietly. The injured knight had already been in enough agony. "We don't have any spirits anyway, or a pot to boil water in, and attempting to clean them might restart the bleeding."

Leon wrapped a bandage around his hand and they helped him up onto Lancelot’s mare. It wouldn’t have been a good idea for him to ride alone, even if they’d had an extra horse. The other knight scrambled up into the saddle behind him, and Percival made sure both of them were steady before letting go. Gwaine’s left hand gripped the rise of the saddle and Lance held onto his waist as well as the reins. 

"Are you ready to go?" He asked gently.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” he agreed, and they started off at a walking pace. 

The inn was only a few hours away and they made it there by early evening. Thankfully, that meant it was nearly empty, since the dinner crew hadn’t arrived yet, and there weren’t many people to stare at them. With Gwaine limping on bare feet and Percival supporting him, they already attracted more attention than he would've liked from the barkeep and the few patrons. Arthur slipped off to the side to talk to the inn owner.

"We'll need a tub, hot water, and clean towels brought up to the room," he requested.

"I'll see to it personally," the woman reassured him. Arthur nodded his thanks and took his leave to go follow his friends up the stairs. Gwaine was just entering the room when he caught up to them, so he was able to watch his and Merlin's tearful reunion. The servant choked back a sob of relief when he looked up from where he'd been sorting through his medicine bag and saw his friend. He was across the room on his long legs in an instant, hands coming up to hover near Gwaine’s cheeks.

“Did you miss me?” the knight asked playfully, smiling as he pressed his face forward into his friend’s hands. It was obvious he wasn’t taking the reunion lightly either though, as his voice was choked with emotion and he closed his eyes when Merlin brought their foreheads together.

"Thank the gods you're alive," Merlin mumbled softly. Even quieter, he added, "I don't know if I could have lived without you." He stroked his thumb over the other man's temple, wincing at the tacky blood there. 

“The innkeeper is going to bring up a bath and some clean towels,” Arthur announced, and Merlin looked up at him before nodding. “I’ll give you three some privacy,” he offered, closing the door and retreating to the other room they had rented. The walls were thin though, so he could still hear the reassurances Merlin gave as he prepared a tea to help with the pain and stitched his friend back together, the splashing of water from the tub, and later, Percival’s low voice singing a lullaby.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and/or you can come talk to me on tumblr where I'm @gremlinbehaviour


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